Calling our bluff?

Not that I think the Shrubbery in DC is prone to bluff.

Saddam urged to reject resolution

Iraq’s parliament tonight condemned a UN resolution on resuming weapons inspections and a leading member of the body urged its rejection.

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What’s up for California

Given California remained solidly Democratic in the election and is a comparative bastion of liberalism, I expect Republican oppo-research will do whatever they can to get Gray Davis on campaign finance corruption.

Not that this will be difficult. Green candidate Peter Camejo stated publicly a Democratic insider told him, “If I was wired, Davis would be in prison”, a sentiment I’ve heard echoed from plenty of moderate Democrats too. For Camejo to state this publicly is, I think, extraordinary. He must be rather sure of his sources and facts. To not expect the Karl Rove’s to go after Davis on corruption is to strain credulity.

California is just now facing a humuguous budget shortfall of 10-20 billion. Things could and probably will get ugly quickly. Not good for incumbents. Not good for the state. No one knows where the money will come from, and huge cuts in everyone’s favorite programs are forthcoming.

Meanwhile, LA County is closing major hospitals because it can’t afford to keep them open. Thisis not a ploy or a trick - even liberal Gloria Molina of the County Board of Supervisors voted to close hospitals saying we just don’t have the money.

Clinton dumped money into California, Bush is doing the opposite. There will be no generous bailouts to California from DC while Emperor Shrub is in office.

And, oh yeah, El Nino is getting stronger than originally predicted. Hang on for a roller coaster ride, California!

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Wellstone Memorial Service Hurt Democrats.

Many Republicans were genuinely outraged by what they saw as grotesque politicing at the Wellstone memorial. And Minnesota Republicans turned out to vote in much higher numbers than the national averages because of this.

Time examines whether Sen. Paul Wellstone’s (D-MN) memorial service cost Democrats the election: “A backlash against the politically charged service almost certainly helped Norm Coleman beat Walter Mondale for Wellstone’s Minnesota Senate seat. And a private poll by Bill Clinton’s former pollster, Mark Penn, suggests the service backfired on Democrats…

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Smart police work

Street racing was killing people in San Diego. Now it’s not. Why? Because police simultaneously provided street racers a legal place to race once a month at a race track while cracking down hard on racers still on the streets.

The results. The death poll is way down and racers are happy. Thanks to some smart police.

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Reagan cabinet member says don’t invade Iraq

A former Cabinet member under former President Ronald Reagan told military officers Thursday in Monterey that the United States should not invade Iraq.

Former Secretary of the Navy James Webb said the country should focus instead on eliminating international terrorism. Speaking at the Naval Postgraduate School, Webb said that without a clear understanding of consequences - or a clear exit strategy - U.S. forces face a decades-long occupation that could sap American resolve and resources.

The United States also risks inflaming Arab anger even more if it invades without first finding a solution to the Palestinian problem - which would include establishment of a Palestinian state, Webb said.

“I am very concerned with the direction this country may be going with regard to Iraq,” Webb told several hundred students and faculty members. “Are we going to reshape American foreign policy to put (soldiers) on the ground in the Middle East? I think it’s a mistake.”

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U.S. embassy guard murdered in Nepal

A security officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu has been shot dead by unidentified assailants in what police said appears to be a deliberate escalation of violence by Maoist rebels

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